Christopher Syn
Doctor Christopher Syn, otherwise known as Captain Clegg, was an eighteenth century parson and sometime pirate and smuggler. He was known for being the best swordsman and rider in all England. Early Life Christopher Syn was born in the town of New Romney, Kent, in 1729. His early life was quite a contented one, by all accounts; however, when Christopher was 17, his father’s side of the family was killed while fighting for the Scottish in the Battle of Culloden. This was on the 6th April 1746, and soon after his mother died of grief. Christopher was therefore the last male in the Syn line, and was raised by an elderly uncle until he was able to leave his home in Kent. In 1754, Christopher Syn first met Mr. Mipps, who was on his way to a life at sea. Syn saves Mipps from the King's Revenue and forged what became a life-long friendship. While a brilliant young Oxford scholar and Doctor of Divinity, Syn fell in love with the Spanish beauty Imogene Almago and rescued her from "Bully" Tappitt, whom he kills in a duel. Captain Clegg Syn and Imogene were then married in a double ceremony with Tony Cobtree and his lady-love Caroline Gordon. They returned to Dymchurch-Under-the-Wall where Tony was the son of the local squire and Christopher was installed as Vicar. Unfortunately, this state of affairs did not last long, as the following year Imogene was seduced away by Syn's supposed friend, Nicholas Tappitt, with Syn nearly losing his sanity out of rage and grief. He did, however, devote this anger towards devising a revenge for Nick and Imogene. The two refugees fled to America, and when Christopher followed them his ship was taken by a pirate known as “Black Satan”, who was in charge of the Sulphur Pit. Syn killed Black Satan in a duel, thus becoming the new captain, and elected Mr Mipps, who was among the crew, as First Mate. Syn soon abandoned his ship and crew to go searching for Tappitt and Imogene in the American wilderness, accompanied by the loyal Mipps. Without Syn's knowledge Mipps had arranged a convenient accident which ignited the powder-hold of the Sulphur Pit, eliminating all witnesses who could tell of Syn's piratic acts. Under the cover of taking a mission to the Indians, Dr. Syn and Mr. Mipps ventured into the forests along the Mississippi. They shared several adventures with the Native American warrior Shuhshuhgah, who became a loyal ally. He emerged from the wilderness in 1758, only to lean that Tappitt had become a whaler and had taken Imogene and their son on a voyage with him. Syn became a ship's harpooner and adopts the alias "Clegg", after Shuhshuhgah's name for a vicious biting fly. He completed his whaling voyage in 1762, having failed again to catch up with Tappitt and Imogene. He learnt that Tappitt is now in Kingstown Jamaica, where he went by the name of "Black Nick." He purchased a fast ship, the "St. Nicholas," and also bought several letters of marque. Syn stole the ship and its crew from Tappitt and began a new career of piracy. He re-named the ship the "Imogene" and christened himself "Captain Clegg." During this period he became the most infamous pirate of his day. This ended, however, in 1774, when a mutiny against Syn was incited by the Cuban mulatto who was the only survivor of the destruction of Syn's first pirate ship. Clegg, Mipps, and Shuhshuhgah quashed the mutiny and punished the mulatto by cutting out his tongue and marooning him on a coral shoal where he was certain to die. Despairing of piracy and his quest for revenge, Clegg slipped away from his ship. His plan was to return to Dymchurch and live out his life as an obscure country clergyman. The Scarecrow of Romney March On the way back to Dymchurch, his brig was wrecked in a terrible storm, with Syn being the only survivor; on his return, his old friend Tony Cobtree, now the Squire of Dymchurch, gave him a warm welcome, and saw that Syn was appointed Vicar of Dymchurch and Dean of Peculiars. Syn was also rejoined by Mr. Mipps, who had arranged yet another convenient powder-hold accident on the Imogene. Mipps became the church sexton and the coffin maker for the town. Mipps also became involved in the local smuggling business. When his activities attracted too much attention from the authorities, however, Syn stepped in. He decided that the only way to protect his parishioners from the hangman's noose was to organize them so well that they would never be caught. Adopting the masked identity of the “Scarecrow”, he became adept at foiling the King's men at every turn. It was at this time that Dr. Syn founds Imogene on her deathbed, and forgave her before she died. She also told him that he was the true father of her son, and that Tappitt left the lad somewhere in America. It is uncertain what happened with the son, as Syn never actually met him. Category:Pages Category:People